I hate Michael Bay, BUT LOVE THIS MOVIE

Rating: 9/10 (10 July 2005)

INFO: SPOILER LEVEL 1 (first 10 minutes of film discussed) SAW IT AT: Saturday Preview Screening at Jersey Gardens, NJ
"The Island" is entertaining, thought-provoking, and thrilling. It also made me do something I never thought possible--put "Michael Bay" and "intelligent film-making" in the same sentence. My previous experience with director Michael Bay has been that his films are either dumb fun (The Rock) or so dumb they cause suffering (Pearl Harbor, Armageddon). But it's amazing how good a film can be when you plug Mr. Bay's talent for staging action together with a thoughtful script. The result is one of the best sci-fi action movies of all time and likely the best of this decade.
Michael Bay did not make this transformation into intelligent action director by himself. He traded his usual producer, Jerry Bruckheimer (whose last name in German means "lowest common denominator"), to some guy named Spielberg. He traded cheese ball Nicholas Cage for serious thespians Ewan MacGregor and Scarlett Johannsen. And lastly, the script comes from the new Dreamworks dynamic duo of screenwriters Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci.
All of these trades are for the better. The script starts slowly as watch the daily routines of a strange Utopian facility that prepares citizens for their trip to the mystical "ISLAND". When they are chosen to go to THE ISLAND, they will get the chance to create a new society like Adam & Eve starting over. All looks happy and bright but citizen Ewan MacGregor is feeling restless and shares his concerns with his best friend Scarlett Johannsen. Facility administrator Sean Bean seems deeply puzzled by MacGregor's misgivings. From this quiet start, the screenplay takes some dramatic turns all leading to some serious white-knuckle action scenes.
The acting is fantastic across the board. The production design is flawless, presenting a near future that mixes just the right amount of present-day with non-existing technologies to feel both familiar and enchanting. The action is some of the best that Michael Bay has directed and has the added benefit of true emotional resonance. When a bad guy smacks into something or our heroes reach victory, the audience was cheering, laughing, and I heard "Holy ****" exclaimed several times all around me. To top it all of, it's exceptionally funny. The laughs come naturally within the events of the movie (usually from Steve Buscemi), not with silly wisecracks or tacked on punchlines (again, HOORAY FOR NO NICHOLAS CAGE!).
The past few summers have also had future action films (I, Robot, Minority Report), but none have hit on all cylinders like The Island. I, Robot had decent action with undercooked characters (grumpy Will Smith and a screen saver). Conversely, Minority Report had solid acting but was utterly pointless (Steve's brilliant moral--Kids, do not base law enforcement around psychics). The Island actually has something compelling and relevant to say about today's top medical controversy.
In summation, go see it! This deserves to be the biggest hit of the summer (and I like Batman Begins an awful lot). It is the most fun I have had in the theaters since the original Matrix. The only reason it does not get a 10 is because it contains some overzealous product placement. Don't buy the products, but buy your Island tickets if you want an explosive double does of adrenaline and brains.